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Development of Heavier Sound
Mid-1960s British bands such as the Yardbirds, Cream, and the Jeff Beck Group, along with Jimi Hendrix, are credited with developing the heavier drums, bass, and distorted guitar sounds that differentiate heavy metal from other genres. -
New Sound Codified
The new sound was codified in the 1970s by Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, and Black Sabbath with the release of Led Zeppelin II, Deep Purple in Rock, and Paranoid, respectively. These songs featured heavy riffs, distorted “power chords,” mystical lyrics, guitar and drum solos, and vocal styles that ranged from wails to whines. -
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Popularity Slump
Heavy Metal's popularity slumped during the disco years at the end of the 1970s, but it became more successful than ever in the 1980s, leading to wide spread popularity and more bands to try their hand at the genre. -
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Punk V. Metal
In 1979-1980, you were either a punk rocker or a metalhead. The competition between the two genres caused them to change and develop quickly. -
Rise of Punk Rock
“Punk” was originally a derogatory term, but was claimed as a badge of honor by misfits and outsiders who felt they didn’t fit in mainstream culture. Thus, punk music has always had an “outsider” vibe. Punk had a strong DIY ethic: simple home-grown recording, straightforward garage-band sounds, a rejection of commercialized music. This later splintered into New Wave and Hardcore Punk. -
New Wave
New Wave was considered an "Americanized" form of Punk. It was much more heavily based in a Pop and mainstream style, and excluded the term Punk to avoid bad publicity. -
New Wave of British Heavy Metal
Def Leppard, Iron Maiden, and Saxon headed the “new wave of British heavy metal” that, along with the impact of Eddie Van Halen’s astonishing guitar virtuosity, revived the genre. Heavy metal had, however, become a worldwide phenomenon in both fandom and production with the success of Germany’s Scorpions and other bands from Japan to Scandinavia. The most important musical influence of the decade was the adaptation of chord progressions, figuration, and ideals of virtuosity from Baroque models. -
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Fracture and Criticism
Heavy metal fragmented into subgenres in the 1980s. A smaller scene of styles developed in opposition to the more pop-oriented metal of Bon Jovi, Whitesnake, and the glam bands. Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax, and Slayer pioneered thrash metal, distinguished by its fast tempos, harsh vocal and guitar timbres, aggressiveness, and critical or sarcastic lyrics. Political and academic groups blamed the genre and its fans for causing everything from crime and violence to despondency and suicide. -
Hardcore Punk
Hardcore is often called a “faster, meaner genre” of punk; a “rebellion against a rebellion.” If new-wave took a more broadly accepted path, hardcore went the opposite direction. Shouted vocals; louder, harder, faster music, every instrument sounds like it’s competing for the highest volume. -
The Rise of "Glam" Metal
A wave of “glam” metal, featuring gender-bending bands such as Mötley Crüe and Ratt, emerged from Los Angeles beginning about 1983; Poison, Guns N’ Roses, and hundreds of other bands then moved to Los Angeles in hopes of getting record deals. -
Thrash Metal
This genre emerged as musicians began fusing the double bass drumming and complex guitar stylings of the new wave of British heavy metal with the speed and aggression of hardcore punk. It developed as a backlash against the pop-influenced, widely accessible sub-genre of Glam Metal and New Wave. -
Alternative Rock
Though having a more melodic, mainstream sound, this music was “alternative” because it was outside the mainstream; it had the DIY, non-commercial sensibilities of punk, and tended to be released on independent labels. It was sometimes called “college rock” due to airplay on college radio stations. -
Grunge
The early grunge movement revolved around Seattle's independent record label Sub Pop. The owners of Sub Pop marketed Northwestern punk rock shrewdly, and the media was encouraged to describe it as "grunge", which came to mean a punk + metal hybrid. Seattle music journalist Charles R. Cross defines grunge as distortion-filled, down-tuned, and riff-based rock that uses loud electric guitar feedback and heavy, “ponderous” bass lines to support its song melodies. -
Alternative Metal
The "alt-metal" label was applied to a wide spectrum of bands that combined metal with different styles: punk, funk, hip hop, progressive rock, and industrial. Alternative metal artists, though not representing a cohesive scene, were united by their willingness to experiment with the metal genre and their rejection of glam metal aesthetics. -
Nu Metal
During the late 1990s and early 2000s, nu metal was prevalent in the mainstream. It became more popular than alternative metal and resulted in a more standardized sound. It was defined by elements of hip hop, often including DJs and turntables, and rap-style vocals. Many Nu Metal guitarists use seven-string guitars that are down-tuned to play a heavier sound; the genre is heavily syncopated and based on guitar riffs.